Then and Now Posts

Fisk Rubber Company had retail stores in 40 states during the 1920s. The Duluth sales and service station was at 749 E. Superior St. The photo above was shot by Hugh McKenzie and dated Oct. 23, 1920. Below, the same location at Eight Avenue East and Superior St., shot Nov. 7, 2017.

The undated postcard above depicts the long-ago view facing south on Central Avenue from Ramsey Street. The modern image below references the same location, showing the Gopher Lounge parking lot, Denton Law Office, Beaner’s Central, Zenith Bookstore and Central Sales, along with a pair of obscured vacant buildings on the east side, and Pioneer National Bank and several other obscured buildings on the west side. Happy Spirit Valley Days!

The Viking Motel operated at 2511 London Road from 1961 to 2000, and was demolished in 2001. The two-story, 30-room motel overlooking Lake Superior listed these amenities on its postcard: “Room Phones. Free Color TV. Coffee. Air Conditioned. Bridal Suites. Water Beds.”

The Bellows was a fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge that operated at 2230 London Road from 1969 to 1997. It was founded by Don M. and Verna Bellows, and the round-shaped design came from architect Robert W. Prestidge.

The top photo is from April 5, 2007; the bottom is from the same spot on April 5, 2017.

Ten years ago the Costello Block was a pile of bricks, brownstone and timber at 22-24 E. Superior St. It was demolished to make way for A&L Properties’ redevelopment and expansion of the Wieland Block, which incorporated two century-old structures to the east of the Costello Block — the Hayes Block and the Wieland Block, shown in both images above.

The above shot of Rice’s Point is from the Cliff’s Barber Shop Collection. It is from early 1962, as near as I can figure, making it 50 years old. The new Blatnik Bridge (at left) appears to be not quite completed in the photo, and the old swing-span Interstate Bridge seems to still be in use.

The photo above is from 1910. It was almost certainly shot from North 59th Avenue West, near where Tacony Street intersects it. I tried to replicate it with the modern shot below, but trees, fences and houses kept me from shooting at the same spot, and the view is much more limited.

Behind all the trees across the street is a rock outcropping that matches the one in the 1910 photo.

As you can see, this picture is dated 1919. The girls look to be of elementary school age, so maybe one of them is still around today.

The location of the picture is the old Denfeld High School on Central Avenue, which is now Laura MacArthur Elementary School. There must have been elementary classes in the old Denfeld, or these are just random kids from the neighborhood, because none of them look old enough to be in high school.

The old Denfeld/MacArthur building will be torn down after the new MacArthur is built, but hopefully the old house in the background will keep on keepin’ on.